Presona conveyor keeps OCC bales on the move

Sweden-based recycling equipment maker Presona states it “rose to the challenge” when containerboard producer DS Smith needed to replace the bale conveyor system at its Tampere, Finland, mill. Presona indicates it “delivered a system that uses fewer moving parts and it is easier to clean and service.”

In 2015, DS Smith Tampere staff concluded it was time to replace the mill’s bale conveyor system, preferably with something “innovative,” according to Presona. The system, which was connected to two Presona balers producing old corrugated container (OCC) bales, had been in place for more than 20 years. By 2015 the system, which featured a vertical lift, was old and subject to breaking down, prompting Tampere mill managers to begin seeking a replacement.

In 2016 Presona installed a completely new conveyor system in which all parts were built on the same height from the floor. Presona also describes the new system as being “optimized to give its operators better access for cleaning and maintenance.”

At the heart of the system is an automatic cart that runs on rails on the floor, picking up bales from the two balers.

“The new conveyor system is easier to use and takes up less space in the room, which makes everything more accessible,” says Tampere mill maintenance manager Seppo Soisenniemi. “We are very happy with it.”

At the same time it installed the new conveyor system, DS Smith decided to replace one of its two balers in Tampere, an old Presona machine from 1975, with a second Presona 40 OH2 model.

“We have had the first 40 OH 2 since 1998 and are very satisfied with it,” says Seppo Soisenniemi. “Now, if something happens with one baler we can easily switch to the other and they both use the same spare parts, which is convenient.”

Renewi to supply recycled plastics to Philips coffee machine

United Kingdom-based Renewi plc has announced it has started supplying recycled-content plastics it processes to Philips to make the appliance company’s Senseo Original line of coffee machines.

The recycled-content plastic is supplied via Coolrec, Renewi’s electronic scrap recycling subsidiary, which supplies recycled plastics from old or defective Philips appliances that comprise nearly 16 percent of the total plastic weight.

The recycled plastics are used for the black bottom plate of the Senseo Original, and Renewi describes the polymer as heat-resistant, with no odor and as not being visibly different to a component made from virgin materials.

Coolrec and Philips have worked together on other projects, including a vacuum cleaner that is made from 36 percent recycled plastic, according to Renewi.

Coolrec, headquartered in the Netherlands, has eight locations in four countries.

China enters ferrous scrap export era

China’s national news service, citing data from the state-affiliated China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), has reported the nation exported 2.2 million metric tons of ferrous scrap in 2017. The figure marks an exponential increase from the mere 1,000 metric tons exported in 2016.

According to the CISA data, the largest recipients of the exported ferrous scrap were ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The leap in exports occurred despite a 40 percent export tariff on ferrous scrap that was in place throughout 2017, according to the Xinhua news service online article.

The change in China’s ferrous scrap balance has been created both by its much larger generation of ferrous scrap compared to previous years and the government’s effort to shut down scrap-melting induction furnace operators.

According to Xinhua, the government’s effort to extinguish that sector resulted in the phase out of as much as 140 million tons per year of scrap-fed melt shop capacity. Anti-pollution efforts have been the reason for the shutdowns, according to the government. Some analysts, however, cite favoritism toward state-owned steelmaking firms as the reason the induction furnace sector was targeted.

Ferrous scrap traders in other parts of the world have been monitoring what some contended would be China’s inevitable switch to a ferrous scrap exporter, with some predicting a major influx of newly exported scrap hitting the global market by the end of the decade.

The Xinhua news agency report indicates the scrap exported in 2017 was shipped from several of China’s coastal provinces, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Hainan provinces.

Aluminum wheel maker breaks ground in India

United States-based Maxion Wheels, which bills itself as the world’s largest wheel manufacturer, held a groundbreaking ceremony in mid-February near the city of Pune, India, at the future site of its 25,000-square-meter (270,000-square-foot) plant.

Adds Klinkers, “When our project is complete, we will produce 4 million aluminum wheels annually. In this first phase, an investment of more than $50 million will be spent on the land and state-of-the-art plant and equipment for the manufacturing of 2 million wheels annually. Start of production is expected in the third quarter of 2019.”

Maxion indicates that “hundreds of guests, including company dignitaries, customers, suppliers and associates” attended the event, which included a plaque unveiling and what the firm calls a traditional Hindu ground-breaking ritual.

The new wholly owned operation will produce low-pressure die-cast aluminum wheels with what Maxion calls a high-end wheel finish, is expected to initially bring more than 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs to the region.

Maxion Wheels is a United States-based division of Brazil-based Iochpe-Maxion S.A. and makes wheels for passenger cars, light trucks, buses, commercial trucks and trailers, plus agricultural, military and other off-highway vehicles. The firm indicates it produces 58 million wheels each year, working from 28 locations in 15 countries.

Dutch firm signs catalyst recycling agreement in US

Amsterdam-based AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. has announced its AMG Vanadium division has signed a long-term multiyear agreement with an existing customer to process and recycle spent catalysts from an oil refinery in North America.

The company also states it has approved the expansion of its spent catalyst recycling operation in Ohio. The total investment is estimated at $35 million and will primarily involve the installation of a new flue gas desulfurization unit at AMG Vanadium’s Cambridge, Ohio, facility. The company expects to complete the expansion at the Ohio plant by the end of 2019. Once completed, AMG Vanadium’s spent catalyst recycling capacity will increase by about 30 percent.

“As the largest producer of ferrovanadium in North America, the expansion will solidify our existing market position and enable AMG Vanadium to better meet our customers’ future requirements,” says Hoy Frakes, president of AMG Vanadium. “In addition, the expansion of our spent catalyst recycling operations in Cambridge, Ohio, will allow AMG Vanadium to continue to provide our partners with an industry-leading environmental solution for their spent catalyst recycling needs as their requirements grow.”

The Cambridge facility converts oil refinery and power plant byproducts into ferrovanadium, nickel and molybdenum, which is primarily used by global steel producers in automotive, energy transmission and infrastructure applications.

AMG operates globally with production facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Czech Republic, the United States, China, Mexico, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Mozambique, and sales and customer service offices in Russia and Japan.